Journal box



June 1934. D. s. B ARROW$ 1,9 4,338

JOURNAL BOX Original Filed Oct. 30, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet i Q June 26, 1934. v D, s ws 1,964,338

JOURNAL BOX Original Filed Co t. 5 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented june 26,

UNITED STATES PATENT: OFFICE JOURNAL BOX Continuation of abandoned a plication-serial No,-

746,797, October 30, 1924. This February 10, 1930, Serial No.

Canada July 22, 1925 12 Claims.

The present application is a continuation of my application Serial No. 746,797, filed October 3!), 1924 on Journal boxes.

The invention relates to journal boxes and more particularly to a lid for closing the opening formed in the outer face thereof.

The principal object of the invention, gener ally considered, is to provide an articulated lid comprising a cover member, a hinge member, an actuating member, and a spring, said parts being so arranged as to provide a swivel cover which is adapted to completely close the journal Lbox opening, there being sufficient flexibility in the connections to permit the cover member to compensate for the irregularities or unevenness of surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide :a cover member of simple form which may be readily cast, molded or pressed and which is so connected to the journal box as to permit ready and simple detachment therefrom and replacement thereof in case of damage without disturbing the other members of the assembly.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the combination with a flat cover plate,

of a hood member, said'hood being adapted to overlie the joint between the box and cover so as to effectually prevent the entry of water or other injurious substances into the journal box.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a journal box lid which is yieldingly maintained in either closed or open position by means of a simple coil spring, said spring being so located and positioned that its resistance is applied to the cover member at substantially its central point.

To these and other ends, the invention comprises the various elements and combinations of elements as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of a journal box lid constructed in accordance with my invention, and showing the same applied to a journal box, portions of the lid structure being broken away for the sake of clearness.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the construction shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, the direction of View being indicated by the arrows adjacent the ends of the section line.

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 2, the spring being omitted and parts being shown as disassembled.

Throughout the specification and drawings,

application 427,415. In

like parts are designated by like reference characters.

The numeral 1 designates a journal box of the A. R. A. type, only a portion of the box being illustrated. Said box is provided upon its roof 0 or top wall 2 adjacent the forward edge 3 thereof with a hinge lug e which is perforated, as at 5, to receive the hinge pintle 6 and which is further provided with faces 7 and 8 by which, through the cooperation of parts to be herein- '65 after described, the lid 9 is maintained either in closed or open position. The lid 9 comprises a cover portion or plate 10, ahood portion or housing 11, a lever 12, and a coil spring 13.

The cover 10 is preferably formed as a substantially fiat plate, the marginal edges 14 of which are adapted to overlie the marginal edges 15 of the journal box opening. These marginal edges are preferably provided with a flange 16 to reinforce and strengthen the same. Depending from the lower edge of the plate 10 I provide a lug or lip 17 by means of which the lid may be moved to open position. Within the confines of the plate 10 and preferably symmetrically located, is a boss 18 having a convex outer face and formed on or connected to the outer face of said boss 18 is a pair of spaced lugs 19 having elongated perforations 20 therein for the passage of the connecting means, bolt or rivet 21 to be hereinafter described.

The hood member 11 comprises a body 25 and laterally extending or side portions 2222 which are preferably adapted to overlie the upper edge of the plate 10 for the full width thereof, and to also overlie the adjacent portions of the wall 2 of the journal box on opposite sides of the pivot lug. Said side portions are disposed below the pivot means 6, provided with downturned flanges, as designated by the reference character 22 in Fig. 2, overlapping edges of the cover, and closely overlying the joint between the box and cover, when the lid is closed, to' minimize entrance of foreign material into the box. Extending upwardly beyond the upper faces of the portions 22 and preferably integral therewith are the spaced ears 23 and 24 which are adapted to lie on opposite sides of the lug 4. Preferably, the body or central portion 25 of the hood is embossed or raised above the side portions 22 thereof and at its upper end the central portion partially embraces the lug of the journal box. The ears 23 the hood 11. At its lower end the central portion 25 is provided with inwardly projecting thickened portions or cars 26, the edges of which are suitably connected by a curved member 27. The portions 26 are desirably provided with openings 28 for the reception of the connecting means, bolt or rivet 21.

Pivotally or movably mounted on the bolt or rivet 21 and enclosed within the portion 25 of the hood 11 is the lever 12. This lever is provided with a perforated portion 29 which is adapted to lie between the lugs 19 and to be movably or pivotally connected to the bolt or rivet 21. At its opposite end the lever 12 is provided with a bearing face 30 which normally engages the bearing face '7 of the lug 4. when the lid is in closed position. Extending upwardly from the face 30 and offset therefrom is a finger or lug 31, the purpose and object of which will be hereinafter described. The lever 12 preferably comprises a pair of arms 32 which are connected intermediate their ends by a curved seat portion 33 and the portion 25 of the hood 11 is provided on its inner face with a spring receiving boss 34 providing a springseating portion which, when the parts are assembled, is oppositely disposed to or adapted to overlie the spring seat 33 of the lever 12 and interposed between the boss 34 and the spring seat 33 is the spring 13, which in the present embodiment is helical, with its axis normally substantially perpendicular to the plane or" the cover portion 10, as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Adjacent its upper edge, and preferably at a point intermediate the side edges thereof, the cover plate is provided with an upstanding offset lug or finger 35 which is adapted, when the partsare in assembled position, to extend behind the bearing face 30 of the lever 12.

It will be observed from Figure 4 that the openings in the lugs 19 are elongated and do not, therefore, embrace the bolt or rivet 21 on all sides. It will also be observed from the same figure that the openings in the portions 26 of the hood 11 and the opening 29 of the lever 12 are of substantially the same diameter as the bolt or rivet 21 so that there is no lost motion between the said last named parts and the said bolt or rivet. It will also be observed from Figure 2 that the hood 11, particularly the portion thereof, is provided with an inturned lug or shoulder 36 which, when the parts are in closed position, lies in the path of movement of the lug 31 of the lever 12.

The manner of assembly and operation of the parts is as follows:

The hood 11 is connected to the journal box by means of the pintle 6 which extends through the ears 23 and 24 of the hood and through the opening 5 of the hinge lug 4. Preferably, the ear 24 is provided with a rectangular socket 37 and the adjacent portion of the hinge pintle 6 is correspondingly formed so that there is no relative movement between the hinge pintle and the hood 11. The lever 12 is then interlocked with the cover 10 and the spring 13 is then placed within the spring seat 33. The hood member 11 is then pressed downwardly compressing the spring 13 until the openings 28 in the hood 11 aline with the openings 29 and 29 of the cover and lever, respectively, and then the bolt or rivet 21 is insert ed. I have, for convenience, illustrated the member 21 as a rivet with flanged heads 38 though it will of course be obvious that a bolt and nut or other connecting means may be substituted for the same if desired. The parts being assembled as noted, the operation is as follows. Considering the parts to bein closed position an opening movementcaused by raising the lip or lug 17 causes the cover 10 to first rock on the edge 3 of the journal box until the finger 35 thereof engages the rear of the bearing face of said lever, at which time the portion 2'7 of the hood 11 will contact the adjacent portion of the cover plate 10. At such time the pintle 21 has engaged the lower extremity of the openings 20 and the cover 10 is then forced to move in unison with the movement of the lever. The parts now all rotate about the center of the recess 5 as a unit except that the lever 12, owing to its sliding contact with the face 7, is caused to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction on the pintle 21, thus increasing the compression of the spring 13. Then the lid, as a whole, is raised to such an extent that the face 30 of the lever 12 passes over the intersection of the faces 7 and 8 and is brought into sliding contact with the face 8 of thelug. At this time the entire lid mechanism will be held in this raised position by compression of the spring 13.

In the description of the assembly and operation it has been assumed that the lid and box would be assembled for shipment as a unit. Should it be desired, however, to ship the lid as a separate part for application to a standard box, it is obvious that absence of the pintle 6 would prevent the assembly of the construction in the manner heretofore described. In this instance the parts are assembled by interconnecting the finger with the lever 12 and inserting the spring 13 within the spring seat 33, then causing the lug 36 of the hood member 11 to engage the finger 31 and then to rock the hood 11 about the finger 31 until the openings in the lid, lever and hood are in alinement, whereupon the rivet or bolt 21 is inserted. The movable interconnection between the lid, lever and hood, or the movable connection of the lid and lever to the hood, as above described, maintains the parts in assembled position and permits of the easy and rapid assembly of the same on a journal box.

Attention is again called to the fact that the openings 20 in the ears 19 are elongated and that this elongation of these openings permits a rocking movement of the lid 10 about a vertical axis while the bolt 21 forms a horizontal axis about which the lid may rock. The lid is thus provided for universal movement to the desired or necessary degree to accommodate irregularities of service.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the same is merely illustrative and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a journal box having a hinge lug, of an articulated lid including a cover, a hood, and a lever pivotally connected about a common axis, the lid being pivoted upon said hinge lug, spring means acting between the lever and hood, and means on the hood to limit relative movement of the lever away from said hood when the lid is detached from the box.

2. The combination with a journal box having a hinge lug provided with faces arranged at an angle, of an articulated lid including a cover normally closing the journal box opening, the lid further including a lever and a hood pivotally connected with each other and with the cover, the hood being pivoted upon said lug, spring means interposed between the lever and hoodfor urging them apart, coacting means on the lever and hood for limiting relative movement thereof when the lid is detached from the box, said lever having a face adapted to coact with said lug faces for holding the lid selectively in closed or open position.

3. The combination with a journal box having a hinge lug provided with angularly arranged faces, of a lid pivotally connected thereto and including a pivotally connected cover, lever and hood, and a spring urging the hood away from the lever and cover, means on the cover and lever for limiting relative movement under the influence of the spring, the lever having a bearing face adapted to coact selectively with the angularly arranged faces of the lug whereby the tension of said spring may act to retain the lid selectively in open or closed position.

4. The combination with a journal box having a hinge lug, of a lid including cover, lever and hood members connected by a common pivotal member and capable of only limited relative movement, the hood being pivoted at said lug whereby the lid will be capable of swinging as an assembly, and spring means acting against the hood and lever for holding the cover member to its seat, and ooacting surfaces on the lug and lever for maintaining the lid in open position.

5. The combination with a journal box having a hinge lug, of an articulated lid including a hood with a cover and a rigid lever pivotally connected thereto, the assembled lid being pivoted to said hinge lug, spring means acting between said lever and hood, and means on the hood overlying the lever and limiting relative movement thereof when the lid is detached from the box, said lever being disposed between said cover and hood and normally covered by the latter.

6. In combination with a journal box having a hinge lug, an articulated lid pivotally connected thereto, said lid including a hood with a cover and a lever pivotally connected thereto, spring means acting between said lever and hood, and means on the hood overlying the lever and limiting relative movement thereof when the lid is detached from the box.

7. An articulated lid for journal boxes comprising a hood involving an outer wall, a cover and a lever pivoted to said hood, said cover being normally parallel to said hood wall, said hood wall and lever having spring centering portions normally oppositely disposed, and a helical spring, with its axis generally normal to the hood wall, seated on said portions and acting to urge the lever away from said hood.

8. In combination with a journal box having a hinge lug, a lid movably connected thereto and including a hood, cover and lever members movably connected to said hood, said lever member being generally straight, and spring means interposed between a side of said lever and hood and urging said lever against said hinge lug for resiliently holding the lid in the desired position.

9. An articulated lid comprising a cover portion adapted to close the outer opening of a journal box, a hood portion movably connected thereto, and a lever pivotally mounted thereon and having an upper end portion adapted to engage a hinge lug of an associated journal box, said lever and another portion of said lid having spring-seating portions normally oppositely disposed, and a helical spring, with its axis normal- 1y substantially perpendicular to the plane of the cover portion, engaging said seating portions and acting on the lever to urge the upper end thereof away from said hood portion so that it will normally engage said hinge lug and hold the lid in open or closed position.

10. In combination with a journal box having a hinge lug provided with angularly arranged faces, a lid including a movably connected cover and hood, pivot means connecting said hood to said lug, means housed between said hood and cover and including a spring for either forcing said cover into tight engagement with said box or holding it open, said hood having portions extending laterally from the portion housing the spring, disposed below said pivot means, provided with downturned flanges overlapping edges of the cover, and closely overlying the joint between the box and cover, when the lid is closed, to minimize entrance of foreign material into said box.

11. In combination with a journal box having a hinge lug, a lid including a movably connected cover and hood, pivot means connecting said hood and box, spring-actuated means engaging the lug for holding the cover in closed or open position, said hood having an outwardly embossed portion normally housing said springactuated means and laterally extending portions disposed below said pivot means, provided with downturned flanges overlapping edges of the cover, and shielding the joint between the box and cover when the latter is closed, and extending to the sides of said latter, to minimize entrance of foreign material into said box.

12. An articulated lid comprising a cover portion adapted to close the outer opening of a journal box, a member movably connected thereto, and a lever movably mounted with respect to said cover and member and having an upper end portion adapted to engage a hinge lug of an associated journal box, said lever and the outer wall portion of said member having spring seating portions normally oppositely disposed, and. a helical spring with its axis normally substantially perpendicular to the plane of said outer wall of said member, engaging said seating portions, and acting on the lever to urge the upper end thereof away from said member so that it will normally engage said hinge lug and hold the lid in open or closed position.

DONALD S. BARROWS. 

